Who would be an England cricket captain in Australia? The answer, it seems, is Andrew Flintoff, who yesterday put on his bravest face after leading England to their ninth Ashes defeat out of 10, a sequence broken only by the fairytale of 2005, and insisted that he would like to remain in the job beyond the fifth Test at Sydney in the new year.

Flintoff has delivered some painfully bland press conferences in the last few weeks, but his desire to lead his country in the one-day triangular series starting on January 12 is not quite the platitude it might appear. Lurking in the background throughout this tour has been Michael Vaughan, whose presence here has fascinated the Australians and quite possibly distracted the English. And if Vaughan does attain match fitness in time for the Commonwealth Bank Series, then it can only provoke more speculation about who should captain the side.

Asked if Vaughan would lead England out for what would be the first time in 11 months, Flintoff replied: "I don't know." Pressed on whether he would be doing the job himself, he said: "If it's available of course I will. But we'll have to see what happens." Most crucial of all, perhaps, was his desire to carry on: "Everyone's disappointed, but on the flipside I'm proud to be England captain and proud to represent my country. As long as I get the opportunity to do so I always will be."

Flintoff is not a man to throw in the towel, but less strong-willed types might have been tempted. His tour has not been a happy one. He has presided over an imploding team, been accused of favouring Ashley Giles over Monty Panesar and ignoring Sajid Mahmood, struggled with a sore ankle which he said again yesterday would probably niggle him for the rest of his career, and been below par as both a batsman and a bowler.

After three Tests against Australia in 2005, he had scored 296 runs at 49 and taken 16 wickets at 27. After three Tests this winter, the figures are less flattering: 120 runs at 24, including yesterday's do-or-die half-century, and only seven wickets at 49, four them in the first innings of the series. At Perth he failed to take a wicket in the match for the first time in 43 Tests, a sequence that stretches back to the summer of 2003.

"Being captain has had its moments," he said drily. "When I took it on, I knew there would be a lot of good things, but it has its downsides and being 3-0 down is one of them. Having lost the Ashes, it's not a great feeling. It has been tough at times, but there are no regrets whatsoever. It's something I've wanted to do since I was a kid, something I've enjoyed."

The no-regrets line has cropped up more and more. Once the prerogative of Edith Piaf, it is in danger of ceding copyright to an England dressing room defending itself against the charge of gross negligence over their refusal to pick Panesar at Brisbane or Adelaide. "Monty bowled well in this game," said Flintoff. "But I back the selection, going out with Ashley Giles in the first two Test matches. I'm adamant that we took out the best side we could in the first two games."

Flintoff said all the right things about fighting hard at Melbourne, where the fourth Test starts on Boxing Day, and at Sydney. He also spoke with feeling about winning one for Duncan Fletcher and the fans. But he was at his most convincing when he summed up England's problem in this series. "We've played well in patches," he said. "But I don't think we played as well as we can do. In 2005 we played well as a unit, and everyone fired at the same time. This time that hasn't occurred. But the Australians have managed it. Every time we got our foot in the door, they closed it on us."

If England go on to suffer their first Ashes whitewash since 1920-21, Flintoff might find the door marked "captain" closing on him too.